Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

By now, you've probably dabbled in daily fantasy sports, but if not, don't worry. Now is a great time to start, especially with FanDuel's daily fantasy golf offering.

Golf can be one of the most exciting DFS sports to follow, as tournaments span four days and allow ample time to prepare each week. It's a great balance between time to research and time spent tracking your team.

But whether you're brand new to the PGA or daily fantasy sports in general, we have you covered -- and we have daily fantasy golf projections and lineup building tools, too.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target this week.

Key Stats

This week, golfers will need to score to contend for a win based on how this course plays historically. This event two years ago was marred with heavy winds, and that accounted for abnormal scoring. But over the past 10 years, the winner has been worse than 20-under just three times (-9 in 2017, -16 in 2015, and -19 in 2009). Since 2000, the average winning score has been -22.6.

So, to get that low, approach and ball-striking is vital. Neither distance nor accuracy alone carry significant weight, so excelling at one or the other -- or hitting good drives -- should be necessary from our golfers.

Of course, converting on those chances require finishing things off around the green via putting on bentgrass. It's another all-around week in my process.

For a more detailed breakdown on the course, check out our course primer from Mike Rodden.

Stats cited below come from FantasyNational and include the past 50 rounds on the PGA Tour unless noted. Ranks are among the field.

Best of the Best

Brooks Koepka (FanDuel Price: $12,200 | Golf odds Win Odds: +750) - There's some FOMO with Koepka this week because when seeking golfers who can destroy courses and go low, well, that's Koepka in a nutshell. The thing is, courses that are really easy can be picked apart by a lot of golfers as good as the ones on the PGA Tour. Still, Koepka stands out statistically, ranking sixth in strokes gained: approach, fourth in greens in regulation gained, second in birdie or better rate in our sample. He isn't hyper-accurate (85th) but still grades out 34th in good drive rate.

Adam Scott ($11,400 | +1800) - Scott's worst category (off-the-tee [57th]) doesn't matter as much this week, and he leads the field in strokes gained: approach. He also grades out third in birdie or better rate and second in greens in regulation gained. Scott can get into trouble by missing fairways (91st), but that's his only real weakness of late. Scott's price and win odds imply he should be priced around $12,400.

Hideki Matsuyama ($11,100 | +2200) - Matsuyama's price and win odds imply he should be priced around $11,400, which isn't as huge a deviation as we see with Scott but is pretty substantial. Matsuyama ranks top 25 in strokes gained: off the tee, strokes gained: approach, and strokes gained: around the green. Over the past 100 rounds, he's 43rd in strokes gained: putting on bentgrass.

Chez Reavie ($10,300 | +5000) - Reavie is top 15 in both ball-striking stats and is eighth in birdie or better rate. He also leads the field in good drive rate because he's picked up the most fairways on the field over the past 50 rounds. His form at TPC Summerlin hasn't been anything to get excited about, though that doesn't matter much because of how well he's been golfing.

Mid-Range Options

Jason Kokrak ($10,000 | +4800) - Kokrak ranks top-10 in both strokes gained: off the tee (6th) and approach (10th). Koepka and Cantlay also can make that claim, but that's it. Kokrak ranks 27th in birdie-or-better rate but is 12th in opportunities gained, a FantasyNational stat that indicates scoring chances.

Brian Harman ($9,400 | +6000) - Harman's stats have been solid across the board over the past 50 rounds. He's 20th off the tee, 31st in approach, 29th around the green, 26th in birdie or better rate, and 12th in good drive rate, while ranking 24th in putting on bentgrass over a 100-round sample.

Emiliano Grillo ($9,100 | +8000) - Grillo, 6th in good drive rate, putts well on bentgrass (23rd), which is not a given with him. Grillo ranks 13th in strokes gained: off the tee and 2nd in strokes gained: approach. The elite ball-striker has a poor short game, but the putting splits help us buy in at a low price.

Kevin Streelman ($9,100 | +8000) - Streelman has been a mainstay in the swing season. He's 31st off the tee and 17th in approach while ranking 21st in birdie or better rate and 5th in good drive rate. Streelman isn't a good bentgrass putter, but everything else checks out at just $9,100.

Low-Priced Picks

Rory Sabbatini ($9,000 | +8000) - Sabbatini has been golfing well in 2019, and over the past 50 rounds, he ranks 18th in strokes gained: off the tee, 33rd in strokes gained: approach, and 4th in strokes gained: around the green. Sabbatini also ranks 11th in good drive rate. Problematically, he has missed 6 cuts here in the 10 years, but this is the best golf he's played in more than half a decade.

Bud Cauley ($9,000 | +9000) - Cauley leads the field in strokes gained: around the green, and the rest of his stats are around the middle of the pack (74th off the tee, 54th in approach, 48th in greens in regulation, and 57th in good drive rate). However, the price is right at $9,000. Cauley had missed two cuts at TPC Summerlin before finishing 10th here last year.

Kyle Stanley ($8,500 | +13000) - Stanley grades out 46th in birdie or better rate and 23rd in strokes gained: approach. He isn't long (112th) but is accurate (6th) to rank 20th in good drive rate, so he checks those boxes. Stanley also has a seventh-place finish at TPC Summerlin three years ago and has played this course six times in the past decade to mixed results.

Andrew Landry ($8,100 | +19000) - Landry is similar to Stanley, as he's 48th in birdie or better rate and 32nd in approach. His accuracy (5th) also makes up for his distance (107th), letting him rank 35th in good drive rate. Landry missed the cut two years ago in his only try at TPC Summerlin, but he's golfing nearly as well as he did in his 2017 peak.